Acclimation and identity

Two months! I just said to a friend! It’s been two months since I got off the plane and landed in Bangalore, India! I don’t know where time has flown, but I can say this one thing: It’s been fun! Full of ups and downs, but fun nonetheless.

Living in India has definitely taught me a lot – I normally do a lot of thinking and contemplating about things on a day to day basis, but being here has kicked my thinking cap into over-drive, much to the consternation of my close friends who have been great sounding boards during my time here. While I try to figure out this first-time-living-overseas-without-my-family-thing, I have appreciated SO much all of you who have called/emailed/facebooked and sent me thoughts in every so often in every small way.

While I am acclimating to life here, understanding my role at work a bit better, getting to meet new people, I still miss home a lot. It’s funny because I never considered America as home...I always thought Kenya as home. Perhaps it is because I have never stayed in one place long enough to strike down roots, or perhaps because I never identified myself as American.

Strangely enough, I do think a lot like an American. In my interactions here with Indians, I do come across as an American. And while I completely get the Indian mentality and way of doing things and even though I introduce myself as a Kenyan living in the US, perhaps a little bit of the US of A has rubbed off on me. And I’m learning that that is okay. (Talk about tri-cultural confusion!)

And while I am enjoying being here, and experiencing all the new places that I get to see (India is SUCH a beautiful country!), all the new people and cultures that I get to interact with (I get to hang out with Singaporean, Filipino, Swiss, Rwandan, Tanzanian AND Chilean people at my church!), I still look forward to going home.

Perhaps it is because my family – my closest people – are over there now. And home is always where the heart is…

As I write this, I am listening to one of my favorite artists – A.R. Rahman. In the background, I hear the dogs barking, the train hooting, and the cars honking. Life here definitely has its fair share of chaos, and India is a great testament to that! But I maintain that there’s peace in the midst of the chaos. Learning to look for that peace in the middle of the chaos can be challenging at times. Especially when nothing seems to go well. But learning to take each day as it comes and live it to the fullest is worth doing.

More random musings later…

Aaahh...Technology Gripes!

So I love being in India so far - it's crazy as heck at times, and many a time I have wondered what I'm doing here. I feel very misunderstood in most of my interactions with peeps here. And at other times I love it here - especially when I feel like might have some sort of impact on some individual somewhere.

This past month and half have been full of ups and downs - perhaps more downs than ups. But I always look for learning opportunities and try to make the most of every situation and 'not complain too much' but life here is VERY different. Simple things take forever to figure out. Take, for example, this wonderful invention called the Internet.

So, I am currently renting a room from a family. Living in another person's house - under someone else's rules - is definitely interesting. For example, I have a 10.30pm curfew. For the record, I've never had a curfew since I was a teenager. It's definitely interesting - especially when I'm (now) starting to make friends here and want to go out and such. The other thing is internet. This family have their own high-speed (wireless!) internet connection but refuse to 'share' it with me and want me to get my own connection. Given that I'm only here for less than six months, I'm finding it a tad difficult to get my own broadband internet connection!

But no worries - I'm the queen of 'research' so, after a month of being here, here's some options I found - I could get a data-card and connect remotely without a land-line. Oooo..but where do I get one? Endless hours of research online, and some help from peeps in my office resulted in a few names of companies that have data-card options. BUT, here's the catch - out of the five companies that serve the Bangalore market, only one has a data-card that fits my budget and has speeds above 256kbps (most of you who are reading this in the US have a standard T1 cable connection with speeds upto 8Mbps!) 256kbps is painstakingly SLOW! On top of that, most companies have a limited use data-cards. Meaning you have a limit as to 'how much' internet you use! Aiy yai yai!

But, no worries - I'm persistent and keep searching. Finally (by fluke), found a company with a datacard with UNLIMITED (woo hoo!) usage and a data-card that'll give you UP TO 2Mbps! (the 'UP TO' is very much bolded/underlined in their promotional material - which gives me reason to believe that I'll probably be accessing much slower speeds. :(

But no, worries - I'm all about finding out how to get my hands on this card. So, I had found out about this via a tele-marketer! And I was like 'yes! hook me up!'. He even came to my home for to check out the data-card but then we realized ONE more glitch! I have a Mac!! (I'm ready to cry at this point!!) And he doesn't know anything about the driver for the software compatible with my computer. He went away saying he'd find contact me again. That was Tuesday. A whole week has come and gone, and I haven't heard back from him. :(

But, no worries - again, online research is my forte, it seems! A few hours (again) on the internet today YIELDED results. I figured out which model of the data card, which company manufacturers said-card, and WHERE on the world-wide-web to find the driver for Mac OS X Tiger!! I have to say, I AM the bomb! I found it! BUT..(there's always a 'but'), I lost the phone number of Umesh-the-telemarketer! So I now I don't know where to buy the card and sign up for service! :(

Next step of research process is to figure out WHERE to buy/rent this dang data-card. I think I'll figure that out next weekend. I love how people here all tell you what to do, but don't seem to know WHERE/HOW to do said-thing.

Okay, I'm done complaining for the night! ha! I suppose this is really good test to my brain-cells. And you, my dear reader, the next time you complain about a dropped call, 'slow' internet, government beaureacracy, or ANYTHING in general, think about 1.1 billion people in desiland. Most of whom have WAY bigger problems than my internetlessness state. Hopefully, I'll have grow some patience-cells in this microcosm of a land, and learn to appreciate life. Life in all its gory and glory. Adios for now. ;-)

A day in the life of…

I have decided against posting a play-by-play account of my experiences here in India. For many reasons, but mostly – I don’t have time to write about my days and the things I observe on a regular basis. Secondly, most days are mundane. The occasional non-mundane is also further attenuated by the fact that yours truly chooses to think that things ‘are-not-a-big-deal’…prefers not to pay undue attention to how my life in India is different from my life in the US.

But for the sake of dear friends who have asked over and over what I do on a daily basis, and how ‘life in India’ is…here goes nothing…

So, you might know that I am interning for Population Services International – an international health NGO. I’m based out of their Bangalore offices and mostly work in an office environment.

My day usually begins at 6am where I get woken up either by the dogs barking, or the newspaper guy calling out ‘paper!!’ or the sunlight, which falls on my bed in the mornings. I don’t have to be at work till 9.30am, so my morning routine has become very lazy. I take my own sweet time getting ready and love the morning hours where I can think in bed and plan for the day. I have also tried to go running/power-walking in the mornings, and have not been as diligent in working out as I should. Somebody keep me accountable!!

My commute to work consists of a 6-minute walk down a quiet tree-lined street listening to praise/worship music on my ipod. I’m now friends with the dhud-walla (milk-man) and say hello to him daily on my way to work. Pick up an occasional pista-milk (pistachio) or badam-milk (almond) from him in the mornings.

Work consists of desk-research at the moment. I’m usually in the office at my desk reading up and writing about tuberculosis in the state of Karnataka. My main project involves doing a gap analysis on an existing TB project and making recommendations to program managers on how to make things better given current context. It’s interesting work. I’ve been working mainly in the office to date, but am looking forward to field visits and seeing the programs on the ground first-hand.

We break for lunch around 1ish – and technically have a half-hour off for lunch. However, we all eat on the rooftop terrace of our building (there’s a full kitchen upstairs and long tables). The most wonderful thing about lunch is the sharing aspect. So everyone brings something to the table, and we all essentially take a bit from each other. It’s like a daily potluck!

Oh…work would not be work without my mentioning ‘sustenance’ aka chai. This wonderful stuff is delivered promptly by office support staff at 10am, 2pm, 4pm and in between by request. You have an option of masala chai, elaichi chai, ginger chai, black tea, etc..etc. I’ve gotten SO addicted to this stuff, it’s not even funny.

My work-day normally ends at 6pm, but I end up staying later as I have nothing better to do after work than to facebook and catch up on personal emails. Between that and talking on the phone (yes, I do have a lot of blah…blah to say!), my evenings are pretty much mundane. There you have it. A day in the life of. Weekends are a different story – a box of chocolates, as Forrest Gump said. I never know what I’m going to get. J

Things I miss about America (in no particular order):

1. A working showerhead – So, it’s back to bucket baths. I wash my hair twice a week and prefer to not get my head wet in between washes. Playing dodge-the-errant-stream of water from the showerhead that barely has any water pressure somehow is not my cup of tea.
2. Kitchen – I miss cooking! Miss playing host to dinner parties and having friends over to try my food. Miss being able to control what I’m going eat on a daily basis and attempting to eat healthy. Miss having my own place. (I currently rent a room from a family and have food delivered to me daily from a tiffin-lady - you should see me when I get the food nightly – I’m like an expectant bright-eyed kid opening up a gift – I never know what I’m going to get!)
3. Efficiency in systems – I am a perfectionist. I admit it. While I take my own time getting things done at times (aka procastinator), I like to do them well. And thus living in India where EVERYTHING takes thrice as long to do is a test to my patience-cells. I could write another blog post titled “It-should-NOT-take-(insert time here) to do (insert activity here)”. In the US, I could (all by myself without external help) move to a different city, find an apartment, move in, set up utilities, cable, internet, bank account, etc...etc, all within 2-3 days of having moved. Not so much in desiland.
4. American banter/humor – people don’t get my jokes!! I miss witty banter about everyday-normal things. Well, people didn’t get my jokes in the US either. (sad face)
5. My family and friends – Enough said.
6. Pandora! You can’t get Pandora outside of the US!! I’ve exhausted my Itunes library…and am tired of listening to the same-old-same-old (anyone want to send me music? Preferably something new that’s currently playing on the hit radio station *wink…wink*)
7. Food – Okay, I love the food I’ve eaten so far – but I do crave the non-Indian food. I’ve never been one to eat the same-old-same-old on a daily basis, so I miss having a kitchen to be able to cook non-oily-low-fat food. The other day, I was craving a plain old dark green salad SO bad!
8. Being able to call people – I’ve moved enough times in the last eight years and have been able to make new friends with each move, but maintaining old friendships is important to me and I miss being able to pick up the phone and call people and yak for hours. (Don’t ask what my phone bills are!)
9. The direct-forthrightness of American people – American culture is very forward. People say what they mean, and mean what they say. Well, most people. Not so much Indians. I’m still struggling with being careful in not stepping on anyone’s toes in the way I express myself.

Ten Things

I read a friend’s blog recently in which she had a ‘Ten-things-list’…and I thus decided to write up about the ten things that I love about India and the ten things that I miss about America. I don’t have a complete list yet, but I shall add to this as I continue to live and work in India.

Things I love about India (in no particular order):

1. Food – Being in India is like being in food-heaven! There are countless things that can delight your palates and stomachs (if you can stand the spiceyness!) Everything tastes so much better here! I suspect, it is because it is produced locally and is fresher.

2. Indian hospitality – Living in the US had me forget what a treat it is to have a complete stranger be so kind to you without so-much-as batting an eyelash. My most memorable experiences have been my interactions with my friend David’s bhai (brother) and bhabhi (sister-in-law). They have been like family here in Bangalore, and I appreciate them opening up their home to me and feeding me on weekends more than I can ever convey. I could write a whole blog post on Indian hospitality!

3. Random noises – You never know what random noises you’ll hear here. I have (now) gotten used to the dogs barking, trains hooting, auto-rickshaws put-putting, cars honking. But the cows mooing (in a very urban environment) and the newspaper guy calling out “paper” at 6am still cracks me up! (Reminds me of scenes from the movie my cousin Vinny!!)

4. Indian signs/banners – I have a whole photo album of random pictures that I’ve taken of signs and banners that make NO sense at all!

5. Chaos – believe it or not, the lack of organization and chaos (especially on the roads) is actually quite soothing. Perhaps it is because I grew up in an equivalent environment in Kenya.

6. The head-bobble (side-to-side head-shake): Cracks me up EVERY time! I’ve taken to doing it, too.

7. Shopping! I’ve taken to shopping on an Indian budget and not think in dollars (only because I’m on an Indian NGO salary here…and cannot afford to live like a normal expat) but things are still fairly cheap, and one can get a decent (and might I add, BEAUTIFUL) wardrobe on a shoestring budget.

8. Traveling – I love to see new places and experience new things. India is a beautiful country. I could live here for years and still not see everything, but the little that I have seen has me simply in awe and worship of my Lord who created it all.

Deriving significance...

Someone made a comment on my blog, so I went today on the site (after a month's hiatus!) to skim over some of my old posts. It’s been a while since I posted my thoughts online. I still need to write on my experiences in the motherland, but first here’s some randomness from today. I reread this post, and something in the second-last para (labeled as 'Listen') got me thinking…

Most of us are active, social people. I speak for those of us who are extroverts who thrive in the go-go nature of life. When we're not doing something productive and not surrounded by people, we tend to get down and out.

Being in India is really getting me out of my element and comfort zone. I'm SO used to being go-go-go all the time. Used to being Miss Efficient. I've always kept busy; love being challenged, and learning new things. This, being in India, away from all things familiar is not easy. Not having 10 million things to do on a daily basis is not easy – don’t even have Internet at home to keep me occupied! (I worked at a full-time job and went to grad school, for crying out loud!) Being in a land where things take an average of 3.5 times longer is not easy. (For example, it took me 5 weeks to get a bank account set up!)

But…I am learning lots here. Learning to sit still...learning to listen...to myself...to others around me. Mostly, I am learning how to depend wholly on my Lord. And find my significance only from Him. Not from people – my family and friends. Not from the work of my hands (macbook?)

I have to admit – it’s not easy to do this. We’re SO results-orientated. At work, we set targets and measure outputs. We’re always ‘delivering’. We measure impact and improve systems and processes. We often feel good about ourselves when we’ve had ‘productive days’. I wonder, is this how we relate to one another? Do our expectations of people derive from the same ‘results’ nature of things? Do we measure friendships with how much we got back?

I suspect that the lesson of deriving significance only from Him is going to be a life-long one. It’s a journey – one with many dips and turns, but when all else fails me, the One who teaches me on a daily basis to live to the fullest, laugh often and love sacrificially, never will.

More on India later!